1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wind power plant having a tower, a gondola carried by the latter, at least one rotor blade and a rotor hub mounted in the gondola.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Seawater desalination systems are known, which desalinate seawater, usually employing fossil energy sources. Even in the case of electrically operated systems working according to the reverse osmosis process, and the process involving evaporation and mechanical vapor compression, normally use electric power generated using fossil fuels.
DE 200 13 613 U1 discloses a wind power plant cooperating with a water purification system, and in whose tower is located a drinking water storage container. The water purification system supplying the storage container with drinking water is operated by means of electric power, which is generated in the conventional manner in a wind power plant.
DE 29 28 392 C2 describes a seawater desalination system with vapour compressor, in which the evaporator pipes are positioned horizontally. The vapor compressor is operated by means of an electric motor.
EP 1 182 170 A1 describes a wind power plant, whose tower contains a water evaporator system. Here again, the rotatory energy of the rotor is initially converted into electrical power, which is then used for operating the water purification system.
DE 36 13 871 C2 describes a method for operating a seawater desalination system by using wind power. Also in this case, the wind power is initially converted into electrical power, and this is then used for operating a steam compressor system.
The known wind power plants constructed for the treatment or purification of seawater suffer from the disadvantage that they convert the rotatory energy of the rotor into electrical power, and use the latter for water purification. This procedure is relatively expensive, involves high capital and operating costs, and suffers from poor efficiency due to the repeated energy conversion.
The problem of the invention is to provide a wind power plant, which is able to desalinate seawater in order to produce drinking water with high efficiency and using a simple structure.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by the features of claim 1, while the subclaims provide advantageous developments of the invention.